


Second Chances

by Aquata



Category: Rush Hour (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Hospitals, Love Confessions, M/M, Romance, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-18 00:56:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7292971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquata/pseuds/Aquata
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Lee is seriously injured while chasing a criminal, he realizes there is so much he needs to tell Carter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick thing I wanted to write. Chapter 2 is in progress at the moment so hopefully it shouldn't be too long before that's up.
> 
> Let me know what you think!

They're running down an alleyway when it happens. Or rather Lee is. Carter is somewhere not far behind him, left in his wake during the initial dash when their suspect had turned up unexpectedly. Lee sprints after the suspect, gaining on him with each step. And then the man he's chasing turns his head to look back, arm swinging out and sunlight glinting off metal as he fires a hitherto unnoticed gun. 

It's the fact that he's knocked off balance that first tells him he was hit rather than the pain, although that comes blazing through him a moment later. One of his hands flies automatically to press against his abdomen where the pain burns.

He staggers to the wall, his other hand coming up to brace himself against it. He feels rough brick against his fingertips and tries to support himself against it for a moment. But then his legs are giving out beneath him and he slides down to lean against the base of the wall. The world is spinning alarmingly and he closes his eyes against the sickening whirl.

"Lee!" Carter's voice shouts. But it sounds muffled, as if from a distance. 

A hand on his arm pulls him back to himself. He opens his eyes and Carter is there, kneeling over him and looking panicked. He watches numbly as Carter's eyes dip to his stomach. It's bad. He can see it in his expression. If he's honest with himself, he already knew. He can feel how bad it is. But he still looks down, needing to see for himself. 

There is so much blood. His shirt is soaked crimson with it. A hysterical part of his mind notes that this shirt was new and he's ruined it already. He watches Carter's hands move to press against his stomach in an attempt to stop the flow of blood. Carter is shouting over his shoulder to someone but Lee can't seem to focus on the words. He's drifting, the world slipping out of focus around him.

"Lee! Come on. Stay with me," Carter's voice pulls him back and he opens his eyes. When had he closed them? He looks up at his partner from his slumped position, taking in his desperate expression. He feels a wave of regret that Carter has to see this. He didn't want him to see this. But there is a selfish part of him that is glad Carter is there. A part that is thankful that Carter will be the last thing he sees. It is suddenly very important that he tells Carter that.

"I'm glad you're here," Lee manages to say, voice hitching with pain at the end. 

"Yeah, I'm here. It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay," Carter says desperately. "Just stay with me."

"I couldn't have asked for a better partner or a better friend," Lee says because he needs Carter to know. Needs him to understand how much he means to Lee before it's too late. 

"No. Stop that now. You can't talk like that, okay?" Carter replies, eyes full of tears. "You're gonna be fine. You're a superhero remember? Everything's gonna be okay."

And oh how Lee wants that to be true. He wants to stand up and shake off his concern. He wants to say he'll stitch it himself and rush off after the bad guys. He wants to see Carter look at him with that same awe he had when Lee had just been stabbed at the school and hear him say 'you really are a superhero' again. Most of all he wants the chance to tell Carter all the things he should have told him sooner. 

He wants to tell him that he gave Lee a home in this strange city when he felt so alone and out of place. He wants to thank him for letting Lee into his little misfit family and making him feel like he belongs somewhere. He wants to tell him how much his friendship means to him. He wants to tell him that his life would be so much worse without him in it.

But more than that. He wants to tell him about the warm feeling he gets when Carter smiles. He wants to tell him about the way his heart skips a beat when Carter throws a casual arm around him. He wants to tell him that he's never met anybody that can light up a room like he can, never met anybody that can bring joy to any situation the way he does. He wants to tell him that sometimes he cheers him up just by being there. He wants to tell him that his laugh is the best part of his day. 

He wants to tell him that Carter's praise makes him feel like he really is a superhero. He wants to tell him that when he is talking animatedly about something, all Lee wants to do is kiss him and taste those enthusiastic words on his lips. He wants to tell him so much more than he has time or even the words to say. He wants to tell him he loves him.

He settles for attempting that last one. 

"I love you," he whispers, reaching a trembling hand up to cup Carter's cheek. Carter presses into the touch, tears overflowing to run down his cheeks. 

"I love you too," Carter chokes out and Lee manages a shaky smile. He shouldn't have waited. He should have told Carter everything a long time ago but he was too scared. He tries to pull Carter closer, too weak to have much effect but Carter seems to understand. He leans forward to press their lips together. It's so so gentle, just a careful press of lips and Lee wants to cry at the tenderness of it. He thinks he might have done if he didn't suddenly feel so very tired. The pain in his stomach is dimming and he knows that's a bad sign but the thought flits away from him.

Carter pulls back and Lee lets his hand fall from his face. He realizes absently that he's left blood smeared across Carter's cheek. It looks wrong there, an angry red stripe against his smooth skin. Carter is sobbing now, tears streaming down his cheeks and Lee would do anything to stop him from feeling this hurt. But the world is fading around him. He stares into Carter's eyes, treasuring this last moment. 

"I love you," he whispers again and it's not everything he wants to say but it's the best he can do.

The world slides into darkness and he is swept away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the resolution! I hope you like it!
> 
> Let me know what you think!

Lee wakes briefly to the blaring sound of sirens that seem to echo through his head and an intense pain that has him crying out. The world is shaking around him and he can barely keep his grip on consciousness, his vision going hazy and darkness dancing at the edges. He is inside an ambulance he realizes after several slow moments. A paramedic swims into focus leaning over his stomach, movements quick and sure as she shouts something to the driver.

Lee's hand is being gripped tightly and he lets his head tip to the side to see Carter clutching it between both of his. Their eyes meet for a moment and Lee sees the desperate fear there but then he is slipping under again, darkness rushing in to claim him before he can try to reassure his friend.

~~~

Waking up fully feels anticlimactic. It feels like only a moment has passed since he was looking into Carter's eyes as he bled out. It has clearly been longer though because Lee opens his eyes to the sterile blankness of a hospital room. The room is quiet but he can hear the muffled sounds of activity outside as the hospital goes about its business.

He tries to sit up to look around but suddenly there are strong hands on his chest pushing him back down and Carter is leaning over him. The smear of blood is gone from his cheek, Lee notices absently, his skin clean and untarnished once more.

"Hey, steady there," Carter says soothingly. "You got shot, remember? No leaping up, alright?" To say that Carter looks relieved is an understatement and Lee wonders briefly how long he's been unconscious. Long enough for Carter to have changed clothes. There is a chair by the bed that Carter must have been sat in before Lee woke and his current outfit looks rumpled as if he had been sat in that chair for a long time, maybe even slept in it.

When Lee shows no sign of trying to sit up again, Carter pulls back and sits down on the edge of the bed. Lee gazes up at him, searching for something to say that carries enough significance. What do you say to the man you confessed your love to while dying in his arms? Thankfully Carter seems to have it in hand because he reaches out to grasp Lee's hand tightly before speaking.

"Don't do that to me again," he says, voice low and tight with emotion. Lee wants to agree more than anything and promise him whatever he asks but he know he can't promise that. Their jobs can be dangerous and there is every chance it could happen again, every chance it could be worse next time.

"I'll try," he manages to say, gripping Carter's hand with what little strength he can muster, and Carter looks like he understands. He brushes a thumb across Lee's knuckles and then hesitates for a moment, looking like there is something he wants to say.

"What you said before-" Carter starts tentatively, eyes darting away from Lee's, coming to rest on their joined hands. He seems to take strength from the sight because he looks up again to meet Lee's gaze, eyes bright and intense.

"Did you mean it?" he asks and Lee can see the nervousness there. Carter often likes to pretend that he is a lot more confident than he actually is and Lee loves that about him. It gives him the strength to carry on himself sometimes. But even more, he loves the moments when Carter lets go of the false bravado and admits to what he is feeling underneath, trusting Lee with this more vulnerable version of himself. It takes a much greater bravery to do that, if only Carter would realize it.

"Yes," Lee says in response. "I love you." It feels so good to say it after hiding his feelings away for such a long time. Carter seems to sag in relief, a brilliant smile spreading across his face and Lee's breath catches in his chest at the sight of it.

"I love you too," Carter breaths and Lee's mouth curls into a matching smile, happiness glowing in his heart. He wants desperately to kiss him and thankfully Carter is ahead of him once more because he leans down to press their mouths together. It is gentle and soft, without the desperate grief of their first kiss and Lee's pulse sings in his veins as he kisses back. They trade slow kisses for what feels like both an eternity and the briefest of moments. It seems too soon when Carter pulls back, one hand cupping Lee's cheek in a strange reversal of the moment in the alley.

But he doesn't go far, staying close and pressing their foreheads together. It feels incredibly intimate and Lee has never felt so close to anybody, warm affection for his partner rushing through him. He slides a hand up to Carter's neck, fingertips grazing his hair and palm pressing against warm skin. He feels more than hears Carter sigh into the touch, warm breath brushing across his lips.

There is so much he wants to say to Carter now that he has the chance, so many words yearning to be spoken. He thinks of all the things he had wanted to tell Carter when he thought he was going to die.

"Your laugh is the best part of my day," he says before he can stop himself and then flushes in embarrassment. It's too blunt and nowhere near as romantic as he had wanted it to be but Carter laughs delightedly and Lee feels the embarrassment fade. Carter pulls back to look at him properly, eyes bright with joy and Lee feels like he's falling in love all over again.

"Y'know," Carter says, "I think that might be the most romantic thing anybody's ever said to me." Then he leans down to press their lips together again and Lee can feel the curve of his mouth as he smiles into the kiss.

Right then, Lee vows to himself that he will tell Carter all those things he had wanted to say. Maybe not now but soon. He had thought he would never get the opportunity but now he has a second chance to say them and he's not going to waste it.


End file.
